Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of (a) the effectiveness of agricultural funding schemes and (b) how they can support food production.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food security is national security. We need a resilient and healthy food system, that works with nature and supports British farmers, fishers and food producers.
As part of the Government’s Plan for Change we are delivering on the Government’s New Deal for Farmers which includes a raft of new policies and major investment to boost profits for farmers.
We have allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. We are working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future SFI offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the reformed SFI offer will be announced later this year.
The Farming Innovation Programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, provides grants to support industry-led R&D to develop technologies and innovative practices to drive innovation in agriculture and increase productivity, sustainability and resilience in our farming sectors.
We have also protected farmers in trade deals and provided a five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker route, giving farms certainty to grow their businesses.
We are using our own purchasing power to back British produce, with an ambition, where possible, for half of food supplied into the public sector to be produced locally or certified to high environmental standards.
We are reforming the planning system to support clean energy projects that align with our Clean Power 2030 ambitions, helping farm businesses to become more profitable and resilient.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to support tenant stock-rearing farmers with the costs of (a) rising feed, (b) energy and (c) national insurance costs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s New Deal for Farmers includes a raft of new policies and major investment to boost profits for farmers. We have allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament.
With regard to these specific issues:
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce veterinary workforce shortages.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra is exploring various avenues to improve the short- and long-term capacity issues.
Defra has increased engagement across the veterinary profession and other stakeholders, to find a sustainable solution, ensuring the ongoing provision of high-quality veterinary surgeons both in the private and public sectors.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to recommendation 27 of the report by the National Audit Office entitled Resilience to animal diseases, published on 4 June 2025, what steps his Department is taking to improve biosecurity at (a) UK borders and (b) high-volume entry points such as Dover.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Imports of animals and animal products are subject to strict biosecurity controls. These may include pre-notification, veterinary health certification and Border Control Post checks. We apply additional measures in response to specific biosecurity threats. For example, in response to recent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in Europe, we imposed immediate restrictions on commercial imports of susceptible animals and their untreated products from specific countries and banned personal imports of certain meat and dairy products from the European Union single market area.
We continue to work closely with officials at both ports and airports to deliver the required checks on goods to minimise the risk of animal diseases entering the UK. This includes providing funding to Dover Port Health Authority to support Border Force in the detection of illegal imports of animal products.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to recommendation 26(d) of the report by the National Audit Office entitled Resilience to animal diseases, published on 4 June 2025, whether his Department plans to publish a (a) comprehensive and (b) time-bound strategy for animal disease resilience.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The UK Government takes animal diseases seriously and works closely with industry partners, international fora and other government departments and local authorities to constantly monitor and react to new disease threats. We have in place robust measures to maintain and improve our ability to understand, detect, prevent, respond, and recover from outbreaks.
Defra and APHA have noted the findings from the NAO report, including recommendation 26(d). A review is currently being undertaken of existing resilience plans and processes to assess where enhancements are required. This includes the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England which sets out the structures, governance, and processes for disease outbreaks. This is reviewed annually, and the next update is due to be laid before parliament in late autumn this year.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure continuity of funding for peatland restoration between the closure of the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme and the full implementation of the Landscape Recovery Scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of England’s peatlands, and in our manifesto, we committed to expanding nature-rich habitats such as wetlands and peat bogs. This will contribute to ensuring nature’s recovery, one of Defra’s five priorities. We have ambitions to restore hundreds of thousands of hectares of peatlands across the country, and we are working to ensure that we have the most effective mechanisms in place to go further than we have before.
Peatland restoration is currently funded via the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme. We will continue to work with partners, farmers and land managers to enable the delivery of peat restoration, supported by agri-environmental schemes that provide long-term funding to support restoration projects. We are providing advice and guidance to enable partners to transition to new funding arrangements.
Private finance will also be vital to meeting our peatland restoration ambitions. To support peatland restoration, the Government is implementing a range of policies that will mobilise private investment. These include working with the IUCN to attract investment through the Peatland Code.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the projected funding gap for peatland restoration in the Great North Bog region between 2025 and 2028 on (a) rural employment and (b) environmental outcomes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of England’s peatlands, and in our manifesto, we committed to expanding nature-rich habitats such as wetlands and peat bogs. This will contribute to ensuring nature’s recovery, one of Defra’s five priorities.
Peatland restoration is currently funded via the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme. After this ends, we intend to work with partners, farmers and land managers to enable the delivery of peatland restoration, with continued support through agri-environmental schemes that provide long-term funding for restoration projects throughout the country.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage (a) vets and (b) other people who interact with farmers to be trained on signposting farmers to health and support services.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra funds the Farmer Welfare Grant. This funds charities to deliver projects which will support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. One consortium of charities, led by The Farmer Network, is delivering mental health first aid training to agricultural communities in the North of England, including Yorkshire. Recipients of this training, including farmers and farm businesses, reported a 100% increase in their knowledge and confidence of talking about mental health following this training.
Defra has set up a dedicated team to address the particular set of issues driving poor mental health outcomes in the farming and agricultural sector. One of the team’s top aims is to. improve awareness of mental health in frontline staff and ensuring frontline Defra staff are appropriately trained to deal with vulnerable customers.
Defra’s Farming and Countryside representatives were all provided training on the issue of mental health in the sector by the charity “We Are Farming Minds” facilitated by Mind in May 2025. This was in readiness for extensive outreach activity attending agricultural shows and auction marts.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons on complaints that fall below the RCVS definition of serious professional misconduct.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The disciplinary role of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is to investigate complaints thoroughly, determine whether or not serious professional misconduct has been committed, and then take appropriate action.
Defra are currently working with key stakeholders, including the RCVS, to review opportunities for potential reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, including the handling of disciplinary matters.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure all dog rescue organisations adhere to a standardised national framework for the safe rehoming of dogs.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, any person responsible for an animal, whether on a permanent or temporary basis, has a duty to ensure the welfare of the animals in their care. Companion animal rescue and rehoming organisations in England and Wales must therefore comply with statutory welfare requirements set out in the Animal Welfare Act 2006. We would encourage individuals to report any concerns regarding whether these standards are being met to the relevant local authority.
Defra always urges prospective owners to consider rehoming from a reputable organisation in the United Kingdom. Members of the public can check if the rescue centre they use is a member of the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH), which has set clear standards for animal assessments, neutering and rehoming procedures that all members adhere to.